Thoughts from a sleep deprived brain

If it weren't for the fact that it has already been a week since my last post, I'm not sure that this one would exist. See, I have this habit where once I get an idea for a post I like to chase that idea to the end, a well crafted blog that I feel is worthy of being posted. Unfortunately, every now and then an idea comes along that I will grab ahold of but then it refuses to be made into a post. No matter how hard I try it just comes out as a jumble of words rather than a well developed (notice I didn't say well written) entry. Sad to say, my latest post idea has turned out to be one of those obstinant jumble of words.

Saturday I was driving through snow and a couple of different times my car started to slip or slide just a little. This sort of freaked me out; I don't doubt mostly because of my accident last month. It also got me thinking about control and the way we deal with it, or the lack thereof. I had anecdotes about people not liking to be passengers in cars because they didn't have control, or others getting into self defense or becoming oddly aggresive when something they can't control takes them down for the count. Or those who just give up and just stop trying when they seem to have lost their own self control, instead of pressing on and taking it back.

I also wanted to tie in control with being a Christian, and how we ask God to take control of our lives; which is the exact opposite of what the world says. "I am the captain of my soul" vs. "Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done" Then I got to thinking about the difference between the things that we can control and the things that we can't and that's where things started to go jumbly for me. Now when I've stepped back for a few days I'm wondering, where does our power to control start and end? I can control my future by choosing who I want to marry, for example, but I can I control how happy we'll be?

I think maybe you can see why I wasn't really getting anywhere with this idea, so I guess I will have to just let this post take the place of the other half written one.
I realize that I'm better at storytelling than pontification or deep thinking, so let me just wrap it all up with this thought. Control is largely a matter of trust and everthing that I have seen in my short life so far, lets me know that I can trust God and give Him control of my life and my future.

The Inside Scoop

Okay here's the follow up post to my last one. For those of you behind the times the last post I wrote was a piece of fiction cleverly disguised as the truth (sometimes referred to as a lie :-). There was a good bit of truth mixed in it however so here is exclusive inside look at the truth behind the fiction.

Truth: Several weeks ago I was down and really didn't like where I was working.
Truth: While in highschool I considered the armed forces as an option for my future.
Truth: I was transferred to another job site which was in Portsmouth.

Here is where the fiction started to insidiously weave itself into the story. I never in the last several years seriously considered joining any branch of the A.F. and have only talked to a recuiter once. (That once was outside of a Walmart and as soon as he found out I already had a car and job that was pretty much the end of the conversation).

Truth: Portsmouth does have a naval ship yard.
Truth: There is a decommisioned submarine named the Albacore also in Portsmouth.

I've heard that the best lie is often a half-truth. That's exactly what this next part was. I don't know if the shipyard is anything more than that or not, but from what I've heard and understood it isn't. No active navy personnel are stationed there, it is simply a shipyard for the navy. I highly doubt that there are any P.R. people there that would let Joe-off-the-Street come tour the facilities. And I certainly have never set foot on the premises. The Albacore isn't in the shipyard, it is actually it's own museum which is open to the public. I don't even know where in relation to the shipyard it is. Even though it is less than two miles from my current workplace, I haven't taken the time after work to go tour it, but I would really like to.

Truth: Everything I wrote about the Albacore. Before I wrote the blog I actually went online fact finding to find out what I was about to make fun of. It was very interesting to learn about the history of the sub, though I still think it is a silly name :)
Truth: All of the names have some connection to military vessels. Virginia is actually a class of subs, and (I believe) the Ronald Regan is a Air Craft Carrier. Other than that, all of the names I used are real, factual submarines.

The last paragraph takes a little explaining. I respect my government but I don't think I would really want to directly serve it; in the military or otherwise. I also greatly respect the military and those who serve in it. I also firmly believe that naming a ship after a fish is hardly the worst thing that our government has done to its military. It certainly wouldn't be the deciding factor in a decision that big for me. As for the pictures, I only said that they proved that there was a sub named Albacore, I never said they proved I almost joined the navy. When I wrote it, I made sure I was careful how I phrased what I said.

I think that pretty much covers it. The majority of the time I will stick with the truth and what is a really going on in my life. If I do wander off again, I will be sure to let you know a day or two after the orginal posting. :)

How I Almost Joined the Navy

As I mentioned in my last comment, I've been rather busy with work this last week, thus the dearth of posts. Not only have I been working overtime, but my job site has changed once again, so I have an hour's commute on each end, thus making for twelve hour day. Leave at five in the morning, and returning around five in the evening. If I were out just a little longer, I'de be able to see both sunrise and sunset :-) But enough of the excuses, on to the blog!

A few weeks ago, I was feeling really low. Work stank, school seemed useless, and I just wanted to shake things up. Ever since highschool I've always considered joining up with the armed forces, and giving the military a try. With all the dis-satisfaction in my life I was once again looking at this option only much more seriously. I had gone to a recruiter's office, gotten info on all the different branches and decided that if I was actually going to join, it would be the navy.

The only thing I lacked was a clear leading from the Lord. Only a few days after going to the recruiter's, I was transferred to a job in Portsmouth, NH. Now Portsmouth is as the name suggests a port city with lots of trade as well as a navy base where subs are made and repaired. I couldn't help but think that maybe this was my sign. I had a letter from Tom (the recruiter), and so one day after work I went down to the navy base and asked to speak with their p.r. man. He gladly saw me, gave me a tour and told me everything I wanted to know. It all seemed so right until we came to an old decommissioned submarine. The U.S.S. Albacore was launched in 1953 as an experimental sub. It was the first hydrodynamic sub and most modern day subs are patterned after it. It set several speed records and greatly improved knowledge and understanding of underwater mobile warfare. It really has quite the story and is very interesting as a submarine. I just had one little problem with it. It's name.

The albacore is nothing more than a tuna fish. Something that gets canned, shipped around the world, and eaten by hungry little kids every day. It is considered nothing more than floating food, just waiting to be caught, masticated, and digested. I'm sorry but I just can't respect something (even if it is as impressive as a sub) called lunch. Why not just call it codfish, or milquetoast. Shouldn't subs, which are basically metal tubes of death, have impressive names; names like Greyback, Grenadier,Cutlass, or Seapoacher? Or if not a name that strikes fear into our enemies at least a name that inspires our own people? Maybe USS Texas, or Virginia, Cheyenne, perhaps Carter, or the Ronald Regan. Any of these would have been fine, but instead our government names it the USS Tuna Fish.

Any government that can do that to it's own military, isn't really one that I wanted to be serving in, so with a heavy heart I walked away. After getting a good night's sleep I realized that life wasn't so bad after all and maybe I should keep on being an electrian. I realize that this may sounds like a bad April fools joke, but here are two pictures to prove that there is indeed a sub called the Albacore sitting in Portsmouth. One is a file photo (the good looking one) and one is from my phone (the blurry one). You'll see the numbers match. Or just google USS Albacore.





Now that all this excitement is over, hopefully it won't be so long between posts. Thanks for sticking with me :)

Feeling Groovy

I've been thinking lately that keyboards need to start coming with a music note symbol. That way people can easily signify when they are either singing or making music instead of just talking. Like the above title. When I wrote it, I was thinking about the Simon and Garfunkel song, but when you read it you would have had no idea how I was hoping it would come across. Oh well. Maybe in my next life, I'll invent that keyboard and become fabulously wealthy.

Actually right now, I'm feeling extrememly apathetic and I probably should just call it a day and go to bed. And I would, but I just don't care enough to go through the trouble right now. I'll likely stay up a while longer and watch tv, maybe part of 24 or something.

If any of you are looking for a good movie to watch, stay far away from 'Johnny Mnemonic'. It stars keanu reeves and it is terrible! The acting is on par with Star Wars: Episode Two and the sets are painfully fake.

Maybe within a day or two I will be able to do more than just ramble, but this is all for tonight. Cyanora.